How did protesting peers affect obedience in Stanley Milgram’s experimental variations?

In Stanley Milgram’s experimental variations, the presence of protesting peers significantly reduced the likelihood that volunteer participants would obey the authority figure’s instructions to administer electric shocks.1

In this specific variation, the experiment involved three "teachers," two of whom were not actual test subjects but were instead instructed to protest against the shocks. The presence of these dissenting peers provided social support for the participant to defy the experimenter, making the volunteer teachers less likely to continue the punishment. This finding highlights the powerful influence of group dynamics and social pressure on individual behavior, demonstrating that when others openly challenge an authority figure, it becomes easier for an individual to resist conforming to harmful commands.12